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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cold — not warm
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. net — for catching
  7. cap — of ice
  8. face — to point toward
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — an illness
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kick — in football
  14. fine — high quality
  15. net — after costs
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. net — in sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — all right
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com